Novato murder informant gets preemptive pounding by defense

A Novato murder suspect who agreed to testify against five other defendants is a known liar who got a "sweetheart deal" because the prosecution is desperate, defense attorneys said Tuesday.

The counterattack came on the second day of trial in the case of Tong Van Le, the 44-year-old man fatally shot three years ago at his Pizarro Avenue home. The prosecution's key witness is Sean Demetrius Washington, who took an 11th-hour plea deal for a manslaughter conviction.

Washington, 25, who could have faced life without the possibility of parole, was promised a five-year sentence for cooperating with prosecutors. With credit for jail time and good behavior, he could be released when the trial ends.

Defense attorneys, delivering their opening statements to the jury Tuesday, described Washington as a manipulative, untrustworthy criminal who will say anything to save his own skin.

Mary Stearns, attorney for accused triggerman Kevin Abram, reminded jurors about a text message that prosecutors say Washington sent a girlfriend after the murder: "I killed some1 last night."

"Mr. Washington lies to the government to get what he wants," Stearns said.

"Instead of spending the rest of his life in prison, Sean Washington, the admitted killer, will walk free," said Carl Gonser, the lawyer for Deandre Blay. "Sean Washington is the only person to say that my client was at the scene."

Opening statements by defense attorneys were followed by testimony from Novato police Sgt. Oliver Collins and Officer Duaine Labno, the first officers to respond to the shooting at Le's home in the Hamilton area.

Testimony resumes Thursday before Judge Terrence Boren. The jury is in recess Wednesday.

Washington is not expected to testify until sometime next year. The trial is estimated to last six to nine months.

Le, who owned the Nasser Market convenience store in the Bernal Heights area of San Francisco, was killed on Sept. 13, 2008. The shooting occurred three weeks after Le's store was robbed and he identified two suspects.

One of the suspects was Larry Blay Jr., now 21, who had ties to the Alemany public housing project near Le's store. Prosecutors allege that Blay, while sitting in jail for the robbery, asked associates to kill Le to prevent his testimony.

Authorities suspect that Deandre Blay, 20, and three other longtime friends — Washington, 25, Abram, 20, and C. Autis Johnson III, 20 — followed Le home from work and ambushed him. Washington is the alleged wheelman, and Abram is suspected of firing the fatal rifle shot.

In his opening statement Monday, District Attorney Ed Berberian gave jurors an overview of the alleged evidence, which includes DNA results, cellphone records and text messages filled with urban street slang. The murder weapon was never found.

On Tuesday, defense attorneys said the DNA evidence does not necessarily put their clients at the scene when the shooting occurred, and the text messages do not necessarily mean what prosecutors say they mean.

"This is a different language," said Tara Higgins, the lawyer for C. Autis Johnson. "There's going to be some dispute over what these words mean."

Johnson, Abram and the Blay brothers are charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, forcibly preventing or dissuading a witness from testifying, and conspiracy to prevent or dissuade a witness. Larry Blay is being represented by two Marin County public defenders, Camille Bosworth and Brian Morris.

Uribe, 35, is charged with being an accessory after the fact. Authorities said Uribe, who is Johnson's mother and one of Washington's sexual partners, drove several suspects back to Marin after the slaying to discard the gun and other evidence.

Le's death forced San Francisco prosecutors to drop the case in the Nasser Market robbery. Authorities learned later that Blay was never involved in the robbery.

Defense attorney Casper reminded jurors of that fact Tuesday.

"If Larry Blay can be unjustly incarcerated, how much trust can you have in this case?" he said.